PARIS: Three teams of scientists said yesterday they had identified hundreds of tiny genetic variants that together account for more than a third of the inherited risk for schizophrenia.

The flaws were netted in a trawl through the DNA of thousands of individuals, in the biggest study yet into the genetic origins of this enigmatic but crippling disease.

Schizophrenia is characterized by hallucinations and delusions, striking around one percent of the population. The disorder emerges in late adolescence or in early adulthood and can have a catastrophic effect.